Gaochang is deep inland, and it is located in Xingsheng, tying the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and many tribes live together.
As a small oasis country in the sand and sea, it once belonged to different separatist regimes and struggled to survive in the cracks of many powerful forces. When the Central Plains Dynasty was strong, it tried every means to attach itself to the Central Plains Dynasty. Later, it was incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty and became an important outpost of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions.
The Central Plains were in great turmoil, wars were numerous, Helong was lost, the states in the Western Regions were isolated, and Xizhou became Gaochang again. Many prominent families and people in Hexi and Longxi moved west to Gaochang for refuge, including Han Chinese, Turks, Sogdians, Tiele people, etc. Many tribes settled here, mainly Han people.
The Yuchi family was originally a prominent family in Longxi, but after moving to Gaochang, they married with the local royal family and eventually replaced them and became the lord of the country.
The current reigning ruler of Yuchi is named Yuchi Damo, who once married the daughter of a prominent family, the Zhang family. A few years ago, the Northern Rong army was overwhelmed, and Gaochang surrendered to the Northern Rong. Yuchi Damo married the niece of the Wakhan Khan as his wife. To the North Rong as a minister.
Gaochang King City was built next to a river. The terrain was dangerous. There was a desolate wilderness for dozens of miles outside the city. It was close to the city, and the voices suddenly became denser. Facing the dry north wind, caravans from different city-states came and went in the quicksand. The melodious camel bells echoed, and the camel caravan merchants waiting to enter the city formed a long queue.
Yaoying and her party dismounted one after another, waiting to enter the city.
They have already prepared the documents to go through the office, so they don't have to worry about being interrogated, but they can't reveal their identities.
Taking advantage of the queue, Yuanjue whispered to Yaoying, who was one of the few people in the team who knew the purpose of their trip.
He glanced at Sultan Gu, who was at the front of the team, scratched his head, and asked Yaoying in a low voice, "Princess, there is one thing I don't understand. The master of Yuchi's kingdom is Bodhidharma. It can be seen that the royal family of Gaochang are all believers in Buddhism and people from Gaochang. Most of them believe in Buddhism, and their people respect the king very much. Every year, many people go to the holy city to listen to the king's preaching. How about coming to Gaochang in person?"
Yaoying smiled and said, "The Yuchi royal family moved here from Hexi, and was deeply educated by Confucianism. The customs here are slightly different from the royal court, and it seems more sincere for me to come in person."
Yuanjue's expression was a little unconvincing.
Yaoying didn't explain much to him.
Gaochang also worshipped Buddha, and the ruler of the state of Yuchi presented wine to the royal court every year, but the royal power was more important. It used to be the state and county of the Central Plains, with Han people in the majority. The children of government professors studied Confucian classics, the Five Classics, and various histories. Although these years were forced to abolish official studies due to the situation, they, like other small countries that had surrendered to Beirong, changed to follow the vulgarity and say nonsense. language, but the influence of the Central Plains over the years is deeply rooted.
When Master Xuanzang returned to the Central Plains after obtaining Buddhist scriptures, he was well received by Li Shimin and Li Zhi and his sons, and had frequent contacts with the royal family. He once made two requests to Li Zhishang: put Buddhism ahead of Taoism, abolish the decree that monks and nuns are guilty of breaking the law as well as lay people, and give monks certain privileges.
Although Li Zhi highly respected Master Xuanzang, he categorically rejected his request. In the Central Plains, monks were born and joined the WTO, and always obeyed the imperial power. As an emperor, Li Zhi would not be foolish enough to agree to Master Xuanzang's petition.
In the same way, no matter how much Yuchi Bodhidharma respected Tanmaraka, when talking about the alliance, he would still weigh the pros and cons from the interests of Gaochang, and would not be emotional.
Yuanjue and Wang Ting’s personal soldiers grew up in the Wang Ting since they were young, and they fervently worshipped Tamara, and believed that it was natural for the princes and nobles to submit to the Buddha. No matter how much Yaoying explained, it was useless.
Tamaroka has been able to frighten ghosts and ghosts over the years, and it's not just Buddhism!
Yaoying's heart suddenly moved.
Judging from Yuanjue's performance, one can imagine how arrogant the attitude of Wang Ting's envoy to Gaochang would be. Is it because of the failure of Sultan Gu's last mission to Gaochang
She glanced at Sultan, shook her head and laughed.
Although Sultan was angry, he was not the kind of person who would be arrogant and rude, but he was taciturn and was by no means suitable for a mission. Make Gao Chang
It is clear that Ashina Bisuo is the most suitable messenger candidate...
A cheerful sound of the pipa interrupted Yaoying's train of thought, and the crowd was crowded in front of them, and it was their turn to enter the city.
When everyone entered the city, the sound of the wind suddenly became much quieter, and the wind was blowing hot, mixed with the smell of various earthly fireworks.
Yaoying's face was covered with a veil, and she carefully observed the pedestrians on the road, frowning lightly.
Along the way, no one, regardless of age or gender, wore Central Plains clothing. Men and women all wear small sleeved robes with braided hair hanging down their backs, men wear daggers around their waists, and women's braided hair is decorated with pearls and jade.
This is the homeland of the Central Plains.
Yaoying was in a daze while walking, not paying attention to the person in front of her who suddenly stopped, turned to look at her, and bumped into her head.
She was caught off guard and stumbled, but the other party was as solid as a wall, motionless.
Yuanjue next to him widened his eyes.
Yaoying rubbed her forehead, raised her face, and met Sultan Gu's dark blue eyes.
She smiled at him, her eyes flashed, her face was covered with a veil, she couldn't see her expression clearly, her eyes were extraordinarily charming.
Yuanjue's face was strange.
When Yaoying stood firm, the Sultan said, "Three days later, Yuchi Damo will go to the Wangjia Temple to worship Buddha."
Yaoying understood and nodded. Three days later, they would meet with Yuchi Bodhidharma.
"General Su, I want to go shopping in Fangshi these days."
Yaoying thought for a while, and added, "I want to inquire about some news, and I will have a better chance of winning when negotiating with Yuchi Bodhidharma."
Sultan hummed.
Yaoying breathed a sigh of relief. Don't look at Sultan's viciousness. In fact, she is very talkative. If she has anything to discuss with him along the way, as long as she gives the reason, he will seriously consider it.
They first found a post house to live in, and the shopkeeper warmly entertained everyone: "The guest official is busy and tired all the way, please come to the hall for a while."
There was a fire in the hall, and everyone, tired and hungry, sat around drinking soup to keep warm.
Yaoying was also exhausted, drank a bowl of hot soup, ate a few hu cakes, and went back to her room to rest. The man brought a hot tub, and she suddenly regained her spirits. She took off her clothes full of dust and slush, and soaked it in the warm soup, so comfortable that she didn't want to move her fingers.
She was accompanied by men. She didn't want to be a burden. She gritted her teeth all the way, and ate cold and hard dry food when she was hungry. During this period, let alone taking a bath, even wanting to wipe yourself with hot water is an extravagant hope. Fortunately, it was winter and she could endure it.
After soaking in the hot water for a while, the stiff limbs gradually relaxed, sore and painful, Yaoying was drowsy, and suddenly there was a loud noise of people and horses downstairs, someone yelled at the man, and the horse neighed.
There were footsteps on the stairs.
Yaoying got up immediately, hurriedly wiped her wet long hair, tied her hair into a bun at will, and put on her clothes.
There were several knocks on the door, and Xie Qing's voice sounded.
"Come in."
Xie Qing entered the room, frowned, and whispered, "The little prince Beirong is here."
Yaoying sighed in her heart, "Has he found us?"
Xie Qing shook his head: "They don't know us, and they happened to live in this post house. There were 18 people in total, and they were blocked in the courtyard downstairs. Yuanjue asked the regent for instructions, and the regent said that nothing should change."
Yaoying frowned.
It's enough for the enemy's road to be narrow once. She thought she had gotten rid of the little prince Beirong, but she didn't expect them to move in with their forefoot, and the little prince's foot slammed into it.
She pondered for a moment, then said: "The regent is right, keep the same and respond to all changes. We have just moved in, and we have changed a post for no reason. Instead, we will be suspected by the Beirong people. It is better to continue living like this. We know that Their identities can just take the opportunity to inquire about their purpose of coming to Gaochang."
This post house is a stronghold of Wang Ting in Gaochang, otherwise Sultan Gu and the others would not have lived in it.
Xie Qing should go out and instruct Xie Chong and a few people to act carefully, and it is best not to go out. They are Han Chinese, so conspicuous.
The little prince and his party were domineering and arrogant. Since entering the hall, they have been loudly supporting the guys. They also drove away other passengers, occupied the stove, and called a group of sing-song Hu girls to sing and dance for them in front of the hall to cheer them up. For a while, there was a bitter resentment, and occasionally the Hu Nu's laughter and scolding sounded either savagely or softly.
The merchants of the post house traveled south and north, and they were used to seeing the world. When they saw the clothes of the little prince and the guards, they knew that they were rich or expensive, and they dared not speak out.
Yaoying and the others were exhausted, so they went back to the house to rest early, without ever leaving the room.
The laughter didn't stop until midnight.
The little prince's voice was so loud and loud that Yaoying tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't until the middle of the night that the little prince stopped. She fell asleep in a daze, and suddenly woke up from a dream. Bowl of cold water.
A black shadow stood there in front of the window, motionless, like a ghost.
Yaoying was startled, and the pottery bowl in her hand fell to the ground.
The sound of cracking sounded, the shadow moved, opened the window, and a face wearing a Yaksha mask appeared in the darkness.
Goosebumps exploded on Yaoying's arm, her body was stiff, and she was drenched in cold sweat. When her eyes met the other's blue eyes, she was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "General Su?"
Sultan Gu looked at her face without saying a word, his eyes slowly lowered, and he glanced at the broken pottery bowl on the ground.
Yaoying whispered: "I was thirsty, so I got up to drink water, and accidentally knocked down the bowl."
Sultan hummed, turned away without saying a word.
Yaoying watched him walk away, found another bowl, poured herself a bowl of water, took a few sips, sat back on the bed, and after a while, lay down and continued to sleep.
After a while, the sound of deliberately quiet footsteps came from outside the window.
Yaoying opened her eyes immediately. In the dark of night, her eyes were glowing, and her eyes rolled around. She sat up carefully, got out of bed, and crept to the window, and pushed the window open with a squeak.
There was a dark shadow in front of the window, and the blue eyes under the mask stared at her calmly.
Yaoying couldn't help being a little embarrassed, it seemed that he knew that she was not asleep.